It is well known in the prior art to have a steering wheel onto which an air bag assembly is centrally mounted. The steering wheel of a passenger vehicle can be impacted by the operator under certain circumstances. The positioning of the steering wheel has generally been accomplished by adding preformed spokes to the molded wheel. The spokes control the amount of bending at the wheel and the amount of energy absorbed by the wheel during an impact event.
The use of spokes requires a molding process that is compatible with the insertion of preformed steel members. The spokes must be preformed in an operation separate from the molding operation and retained in position during the molding process.